Moscow's Largest Gay Club "Central Station" Attacked & Raided Over The Weekend

Central Station, Moscow's largest and most popular gay nightclub, was raided by more than 100 "professional assailants" on Saturday night.

Andrei Lishchinsky, the club's owner, says the group frightened clubgoers and vandalized the property, including the destruction of the venue's roof. He wrote a letter of complaint to Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the growing air of hostility in the once-tolerant capital.

​

"The building was seized by a professional raiding company that served the interests of unknown foreign legal entities that ordered multiple illegal actions against LGBT visitors of the club,” wrote Lishchinksy. “These actions were obviously motivated by hatred toward representatives of the LGBT community and had a clear extremist tone.”

Police have refused to open a criminal case and will not attempt to identify suspects.